Friday Finds 1/18/13

January 18, 2013

The posts that stuck out to me during the week vary in topic. I encourage you to take a good look at each post. They are all extremely well written and informative.

Must-Reads:

Molly Pritz, is a professional runner for Asics and has an awesome blog. In her most recent post, “I Run for the Finisher Medal,” she explains the importance of the finisher medal. Favorite quote from the post: “My finisher medals are like a checklist of past goals and a springboard for my new ones.”

Another article that grabbed my attention was related to the new Facebook search engine. Posted on the Huffington Post, the article “You’ll Want To See This Before You Start Searching on Facebook,” is basically a PSA to show each Facebook user that their search history is logged in their account as of September 2012. Yes, a full log of the search queries you have made are listed in chronological order. When the new search engine, “Graph” rolls out, the search queries made will be added to this log. Now follow the directions in the article and take a stroll down past-stalks lane.

The Guardian posted a very thought-provoking article about the high demand for the grain quinoa called “Can Vegans Stomach the Truth about Quinoa?” with the tagline “Ethical consumers should be aware poor Bolivians can no longer afford their staple grain, due to western demand raising prices.” It is definitely a catchy title and it made me click over to the article. The author actually uses quinoa as an example to stress her main argument that “the shopping baskets of vegetarians and vegans swiftly clocks up the food miles, a consequence of their higher dependency on products imported from faraway places.” I think that the article is interesting but does not show any statistics of vegetarian vs. non-vegetarian food purchases. In my opinion, the author places blame on the vegetarian/vegan consumer rather than explore the purchase power of “fad” foods.

The flu vaccination is a touchy subject with some people. Some swear by it and some refuse it. The vegan community looks at vaccinations with an entirely different point of view. Vegans have to make complicated choices about vaccination where they are forced to weigh a moral and health stance. Gina from Choosing Raw wrote an amazing post in 2011 about vaccinations. To quote Gina, “Saving human lives by damaging or taking animal lives is a zero sum game, and I think it’s high time for us to explore vaccinations that are developed without animal parts or products.” Her argument is both reasonable and logical and stirs a great response from her readers. If interested, I urge you to read the comments as well as the post to hear many different, yet logical, responses.

On the same topic, the FDA has approved the first non-egg influenza vaccine. Flublok, produced by Protein Sciences Corporation, is made using an insect virus expression system and recombinant DNA technology (source). The importance of this approval? Because it is not dependent on an egg supply or on availability of the influenza virus, it is more readily available. According to the FluBlok press release, the vaccine does not contain preservatives, including the mercury-containing thimerosal. It is designed to protect against the H1N1, H3N2, both A strains and one B strain of the influenza virus, and is approved for people between ages 18 and 49 (source). Another major difference from the current vaccine available: “Flublok’s production involves programming insect cells grown in steel tanks to produce large amounts of a particular flu virus protein, known as hemagglutinin, according to Protein Sciences, the vaccine’s manufacturer.” Interesting for sure.

We all know how much I love NJ so last but not least, NJ brewery, Flying Fish, has created “FU Sandy” a beer to support the hurricane relief effort in NJ. Per Flying Fish founder Gene Muller, “At Flying Fish, we proudly hail from the great state of New Jersey, so when tragedy struck, we knew immediately that we wanted to do something to help … Every single aspect of this beer, from the man-hours spent brewing it to the hops used to season it to the kegs that will contain it, has been donated so every cent brought in goes to Superstorm Sandy victims.”

Why do you run? Is there one main thing that drives you?

What is you opinion on vaccinations? Will you try FluBlok?

Who wants to throw a party and only serve FU Sandy? Me. I’ll plan it. Let me know if you want to come.

Comments

I run for race tees. Shameful but true. I like having the shirt to remember my past races and I have a whole drawerful that I wear. As for the flu vaccine, I love the idea of non-thimerosal. Aluminum is a huge negative since it’s so connected to so many disorders, so I love that they are finally coming up with an alternative that is animal friendly as well. Bummer it’s only for user 18 and up =/ I’d love to give it to my babe.Emily @ FitMamaInTheCity recently posted…Fun Friday

I run for my sanity, mostly, and for a daily sense of accomplishment. Running is usually a positive in my life and one positive will turn into two and so on and so forth and, hopefully, into a productive day.

I’m all for vaccines. Of course, I am now required to be vaccinated being in a health care profession. However, I got a flu shot every year before I continued medical school and would have continued to do so regardless. If you have a moral or religious objection to a vaccine, I can see maybe why you would not get one. However, I get somewhat angry when people say “the flu shot gives them the flu” so they won’t get it. But, I guess to each his own!Meggie recently posted…Turns Out, I Do Care

Yea there a lot of opinions out there regarding the shot. I try to keep mine to myself (as with many things…). I love the reasons why you run! I run for my sanity too. Whatever mood I am in, running makes it better 🙂

Interesting article on the flu shots… I have never gotten one, I figure I will get the flu, be sick for a day or two, and be done with it. Of course, this year I was sick for 4 days 🙂 I suppose if I had children my views may be different and my research may be more extensive, the “herd effect” is a good point to consider for us non-vaccinators (I dont think that is a word, but you get the jist!)Sarah (Shh…Fit Happens) recently posted…Up in the Gym Just Workin’ on My Fitness

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Meet Ashley

Welcome to Running Bun! I am Ashley, a working-mom who loves running and training for races, attempting yoga inversions, a strong cocktail, and a good dose of sarcasm. This blog is where I share a lot of random thoughts about the above with some parenting woes mixed in for good measure.